Gettysburg Land Swap Sparks Fight

Part Of Battlefield Bulldozed For Rail Spur

WASHINGTON — It was a scene of fierce fighting at Gettysburg, the epic bloodletting that transformed the Civil War.

As part of the Union line broke late on the battle's first day, Confederate soldiers converged on the blue-suited troops as they tried to escape through a cut in Oak Ridge.

One Union survivor later described what ensued as "probably the most desperate fight ever waged between artillery and infantry at close range without a particle of cover on either side."

But now part of that historic Pennsylvania ridge has been bulldozed, and a railroad spur slices the area.

And as concerns arise about threats to the preservation of historic battlefields, a congressional subcommittee is investigating why the National Park Service let this happen at Gettysburg.

Rep. Mike Synar (D-Okla.), the subcommittee's chairman, on Monday charged that the damage occurred largely because the Park Service is too secretive in arranging land swaps and dealing with potential land developers.

Roger Kennedy, the director of the Park Service, said the destruction of part of the Gettysburg landscape occurred "inadvertently." He added that his agency "has learned from this situation" and is taking steps to make sure similar problems do not occur at other sites.

The changes at Gettysburg stemmed from a 1990 land swap between the Park Service and Gettysburg College, which owns a tract that includes part of the battlefield.

The college gave the Park Service an easement on 47 acres that it had used as soccer fields. The government, in turn, handed over ownership of 7.5 acres, including part of Oak Ridge and the cut through it, so the school could move a rail line off its campus.

But in making the deal with the college, Kennedy acknowledged, Park Service officials did not show "full appreciation of how large and obstrusive that action would be."

Others testified that in addition to moving the rail line, the college and a railroad company also built a new rail spur, knocked down stands of trees and carved into the ridge at such a severe angle that it is severely eroding.

College officials contended that they had provided the Park Service full information about their plans.

But former Rep. Peter Kostmayer (D-Pa.), who was involved in the original land negotiations, testified that "all sorts of work was done that we were never told about."

He also said the Park Service and the college should be made to restore the land. A preservationist at Monday's hearing, historian William Frassanito, said this could be done.

"This site can be restored," said Frassanito, who has written four books on the Civil War. "Certainly it will cost Gettysburg College millions. But we cannot think of a more appropriate punishment for those who arrogantly spent millions to make this a `done deal' as quickly as possible."